The plan went incredibly smoothly.
Actually, it wasn't surprising; it was simply survival bias.
For monsters that grew up in the wild, the concept of "is the food poisoned?" simply doesn't exist.
And the unlucky fellows who fell victim generally didn't live long enough to pass on that painful experience to their offspring.
Even the Great Wild Boar King itself didn't realize at this moment that someone had poisoned it; it simply thought it had carelessly eaten a poisonous Mushroom.
It instinctively lay down, which is the most common method for wild creatures when poisoned—relying on their strong physique and metabolic capacity to endure it.
A few Paralysis Mushrooms and Poison Mushrooms weren't enough to kill it; at most, it would be uncomfortable for a while.
But Gordon wouldn't give it a chance to recover properly.
Standing up from the bushes where he was hiding, he flicked his hand, and a paint ball smashed onto the Great Wild Boar King's forehead, then he turned and ran.
Facing this sudden turn of events, the Great Wild Boar King paused for two seconds before reacting.
Its small eyes turned bloodshot from congestion; it roared, struggled to its feet, and prepared to charge at that hateful figure, intending to stomp him into a meat patty.
However, the Paralysis Mushroom and Poison Mushroom had already begun to take effect.
It felt its body was somewhat unresponsive, and after only a few steps forward, it crashed into a rotten log scattered throughout the forest, with wood chips flying as the Great Wild Boar King's angry roars were incessant.
This forced it to stop.
Compared to dealing with that annoying guy, it was better to wait until its body returned to normal.
Shaking its large head, the pungent paint ball liquid was flung everywhere, its smell strong.
Its sense of smell was greatly affected, so it could only rely on its not-so-sharp small eyes to vigilantly scan its surroundings, guarding against that guy reappearing.
Several minutes passed, but the annoying hunter did not show up.
Believing the opponent had run far away, the Great Wild Boar King lay down again, preparing to rest well and decompose the toxins.
Just as it had settled down and was vaguely falling asleep, an agile figure once again silently emerged from the shadows of the forest.
Gordon approached the Great Wild Boar King from behind, holding his Hunter's Knife.
His gaze locked onto the wound on the latter's leg that hadn't fully healed, he adjusted his breathing, gathered his strength, and in the next second, a series of continuous slashes instantly erupted.
Downward chop! Upward slash! Downward chop again!
Three consecutive precise strikes hit the original wound, successfully tearing open and enlarging the already clotted gash again, splattering blood.
"Awoooo!"
The Great Wild Boar King, startled awake by the sudden sharp pain, howled and struggled to get up, but its usually powerful limbs were now very uncoordinated, making even turning over difficult.
Gordon, meanwhile, gritted his teeth, squeezing every ounce of strength from his muscles, swinging his Dunjian (Shield Sword/Sword and Shield) with all his might; this was the best Attack Up opportunity.
He had to inflict sufficiently severe damage on the opponent; only then could he try to narrow the gap in their raw strength.
The fine serrations on the Dunjian (Shield Sword/Sword and Shield) blade repeatedly cut open the Great Wild Boar King's skin and muscles.
Perhaps it was the effect of the Poison Mushroom, or perhaps the opponent was resting and its muscles were relaxed, but Gordon felt that the Great Wild Boar King's flesh seemed less tough than yesterday.
This was good news; within a few short seconds, the Great Wild Boar King's left hind leg became a bloody mess.
A small amount of Poison Mushroom juice smeared on the blade also permeated into the flesh of the former's wound; this slight toxin could not poison the enormous Great Wild Boar King, but it could inhibit wound healing to a certain extent.
"Roar!" The deafening roar made Gordon instinctively cover his ears.
The Great Wild Boar King was enraged again.
Steam-like white smoke billowed from its nostrils, and its eyes and snout began to turn red.
With a massive secretion of adrenaline, it temporarily regained control of its body, and its massive, ton-weighing body "sprang" up from the ground with incredible speed.
Gordon, who hadn't reacted immediately due to the roar, was kicked by the Great Wild Boar King's hind hooves, stumbling back a few steps and almost falling.
Fortunately, the Great Wild Boar King's hasty kick wasn't very powerful.
Protected by his leather armor, Gordon felt like his side ribs had taken a heavy punch; the intense dull pain made his vision blur, but it didn't incapacitate him.
Just then, the Great Wild Boar King had turned around.
Its movements were like a tin toy wound too tightly, three times faster than usual.
Amidst its gasping breaths, the huge tusks, which were longer than Gordon himself, thrust straight at him as the Great Wild Boar King forcefully raised its head.
He lunged forward and to the side, rolling.
The agile movements developed through arduous training helped him narrowly dodge this potentially fatal blow.
After getting up, he even had time to turn and give the Great Wild Boar King another slash, leaving a long, narrow cut, neither shallow nor deep, on its side.
The Great Wild Boar King roared again.
Its huge tusks swept across, and Gordon timely leaped back, successfully neutralizing the Great Wild Boar King's counterattack.
Gordon grinned, a confident smile appearing on his face.
He realized for the first time that the Great Wild Boar King wasn't so terrifying after all.
Thick skin and flesh, immense strength, extremely fast linear charges, and a faster turning speed than ordinary Great Wild Boars—these were all the Great Wild Boar King's advantages.
But in terms of agility for tight maneuvers, he still had the upper hand!
Those heavy, long tusks, while an advantage, were also a hindrance, weren't they?
I've roughly grasped the Attack Up range of its tusks; next, it won't be so easy for you to Attack Up me!
While the Great Wild Boar King adjusted its stance after its attack missed, Gordon didn't immediately rush to Attack Up, but instead chose to retreat a certain distance.
Seeing the distance open up, the Great Wild Boar King decisively initiated a charge.
Unlike yesterday, when he first faced the Great Wild Boar King's charge with fear in his heart, now he only felt calmness.
Just as the huge tusks were about to reach him, Gordon lunged and rolled, successfully dodging the charge, and then he didn't rush to get up, but continued to roll forward once more.
The whistling sound of the Great Wild Boar King's tusks missing behind his ear let him know he had guessed correctly.
If this guy's charge is dodged, it will immediately turn its head and swing its tusks to follow up with an Attack Up; yesterday, he fell for this trick and was sent flying.
And next, there will be a few seconds of opening!
Even with the Great Wild Boar King's muscle strength, after a series of actions like continuous charging, sudden stopping, turning, and swinging its tusks, it must make a slight adjustment.
This is his chance to launch an Attack Up!
Gordon darted close, and in the blink of an eye, he was beside the Great Wild Boar King's head, unleashing two swift and fierce slashes like lightning, adding two new wounds to the latter.
Afterward, he did not press his advantage and continue attacking, but once again unhesitatingly leaped back to create distance.
The words his instructor had emphasized countless times echoed in his mind:
"Monsters are not training dummies; they won't give you continuous Attack Up opportunities. You must know when to stop. At least half of the hunters who die in battle die from 'greed for Attack Up'."
Sure enough, the very next second after he created distance, the Great Wild Boar King swung its huge tusks again, sweeping across the spot where he had just been standing.
The strong gust of wind from the swinging tusks ruffled his hair, and Gordon chuckled, then charged forward again.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
patreon.com/Kazenova223
If you guys wanna check it out.